8 Hacks to Take Your Relationship to the Next Level

Just like a plant, relationships need nourishment to grow. Without water, air, and sun, they wither away, and feeding your relationship is no different. If you are not deliberately moving your relationship forward, it might just be moving backwards quickly.

The best time to develop a relationship is when things are rosy. If you’ve fallen on some hard times in your relationship, you need to seriously explore to find the qualities you value and share with your partner, giving yourself a return to solid ground so you can move forward.

While most people in relationships would be happy to just let the relationship take its natural course, there’s no better feeling than being in love and knowing you have complete control of the direction your love life is taking.

The first step is to recognize whatever is stagnating. Once you do, not only will you gain deeper appreciation for your partner, but you’ll also prevent things from starting to feel stale again. Communication will help your relationship will be a self-feeding loop of upward growth. It will only get better from there.

As a general rule, you develop a relationship by spending quality time together. If you want to take your relationship to the next level, quality time forms the foundation. Once you give yourselves reliable blocks of quality time to spend together, follow these steps to keep your relationship moving forward.

Talk about the Future

When you talk about a positive future, you immediately get excited. Your face lightens up as you imagine your dreams unfolding. When talking about the future with your partner, the conversation anchors the thought that you will be together years from now. This gives your partner assurance that you’re in it for the long haul, and they may begin thinking about you, and the relationship, more seriously.

Laugh & Embrace Your Inner Child

Ever notice an adult talking to a child? They let their guard down and immediately unleash their softer, vulnerable, silly side. As adults, we can get unreasonably uptight at times and this may reduce our ability to form meaningful connections.

It does nobody any harm if you and your partner embrace a youthful spirit bit occasional childish fun. Have pillow fights. Go on a water splashing marathon at the pool. Sing your favorite songs together even if your singing voices could make a cat cringe. Just be playful and have fun! Dance together even if you have two left feet – it really doesn’t matter. Laughter is the key.

Take a Trip Together

Travel opens the mind and heart and feeds the soul. Going to exciting places and discovering the wonders of nature with your partner will not only make you cultured, it will make you love your partner more by connecting you with exciting and completely unique experiences.

As for where to go and what to do, travel experiences are as plentiful as the destinations. As lovers, you have more accommodation options than are available for the solo traveler. To fully enjoy the perks of being a couple, you can stay at an all-inclusive resort exclusively for couples. This distinction is important because many resorts are geared toward families. Do your research and make sure not to go this route. Couples resorts understand what romantic getaways are all about and will make your trip much more fun.

Redefine Pillow Talk

Few things are as romantic as lying in bed with your partner and having fun conversations about nothing in particular. Sometimes we wonder if pillows were made for pillow talk just as much as for making sleep comfortable!

A lot of things have been created in the name of love. My guess is that the pillow is one of those inventions. There’s no data to back this up – but it seems like a pretty safe bet.

Exercise Together

If you exercise together, you’ll get an adrenaline rush that will make you feel closer to each other while getting you more healthy and fit. Even light exercises like jogging make you feel good because of the chemicals your body releases. When you and your partner do activities that make you both feel good, you get to associate the feelings with being together.

Cook Meals Together

Cooking for your partner can be very romantic, but actually preparing a dish together will make Venus blush. It’s the stuff of romance movies. Life is all about experiences and cooking together allows you to turn a pretty mundane activity into one of the most romantic experiences you can have in the house. Couples who cook together stick together! Of course, the best part is enjoying the fruits of your hard work with your freshly-prepared, relaxing candlelit meal.

Text Each Other During the Day

Remember when you first fell in love? You were in constant communication with one another. You can rekindle that kind of love today by sending surprise texts to your partner during the day. I am not talking about ‘where are you?’ kind of texts, but sweet nothings and clever little declarations of your love. This is about taking the time to send the kinds of texts that only excited, butterfly-laden lovers send one another. Be creative and fun!

Think about Why You’re Together

One of the most important things couples can consider is what makes them compatible. This is a conversation you should consider deeply before ever bringing it up. Think about the reasons why you want to be with this person, and the reasons this person wants to be with you.

Often, it can make you realize the things you often miss. Maybe you support and root for each other to move up at work, maybe you have similar interests and goals, or maybe you just have fun together. All of these are good reasons to be together, and if your thoughts align, talking about them is a bonding experience that can bring you even closer than you already are.